Cool Weird Awesome With Brady Carlson

It's said that today in 1822, Clement Clarke Moore wrote the verses to what is now the most famous Christmas poem of all time. But the eminent professor wasn't always thrilled that this poem was his most famous written work. Plus: Did you know that there was once a tourist town in Arizona called Santa Claus? Time for a Visit from St. Nicholas (Library of Congress)Santa Claus, Arizona (Atlas Obscura)We’re directing Santa toward our Patreon backers, since they’ve been so good this year

According to Seinfeld, December 23 is Festivus. It's a made-up TV holiday that has roots in a real family's tradition, though it may be even more inexplicable than the famous version. Plus: December 23 in Oaxaca, Mexico is known as “Night of the Radishes.”What is Festivus? The 'Seinfeld' holiday has real 'sinister' origins (Cincinnati Enquirer) Mexico's Night of the Radishes, a Quirky Christmas Tradition (How Stuff Works)Back our show on Patreon, or at least make a donation in our name to the Human Fund

Today in 1882, a big moment in holiday decorations: thanks to inventor Edward H. Johnson, for the first time, a Christmas tree festooned with colorful electric lights. Plus: Iceland has a fascinating Christmas tradition: the Yule Cat. Who invented electric Christmas lights? (Library of Congress)A festive feline: Iceland's terrifying Christmas Yule Cat (History.co.uk)Light up our podcast as a backer on Patreon

Today in 1892, the birthday of Fred Thomas, who had the unusual distinction of being an active duty member of the military while playing in baseball’s World Series. And his two jobs helped lead to a pretty big custom in modern American sports. Plus: this Sunday in Anchorage, Alaska, it’s the Winter Solstice Festival. Fred Thomas (Society for American Baseball Research)Winter Solstice Festival We have a job for you: back this show on Patreon

Today in 1620, people aboard the English ship Mayflower dropped anchor supposedly at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts. Only the story of the rock came much later, and then people had a hard time keeping the rock in one piece. Plus: some online reviewers have not exactly been rocked by visiting Plymouth Rock. Thomas Faunce: The Man Who Saved Plymouth Rock (New England Historical Society)The Funniest Reviews of Plymouth Rock Left by Disappointed Tourists (Thrillist)Nobody rocks as much as our Patreon backers rock

Happy Hanukkah! In this episode from December 2022, we visit Hanukkah House in Houston. When most people mark Hanukkah with lights, they mean candles on a menorah. But Philip Grosman brings all the lights for the festival.⁠Houston's famous Hanukkah house shines bright for the holidays⁠ (KHOU)⁠This show is powered by our backers on Patreon!

A little over a century ago, a group of women, fed up with the overly commercial side of Christmas, formed the Society for the Prevention of Useless Giving, or SPUG. And they made a pretty big splash along the way. Plus: today in 1773, the Boston Tea Party, though it was known by a slightly wordier name in its time. Only You Can Prevent Useless Gifts (JSTOR)The Destruction of the Tea (Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum) You don’t have to turn in your Spug button to back our show on Patreon, because it’s very practical

Happy Bill of Rights Day! One of the original amendments Congress sent to the states for ratification made it into our governing document two centuries later. It's literally a long story. Plus: students at Osaka Public University in Japan just built a bicycle that flies. 27th Amendment or Bust (The American Prospect)Japanese Students Successfully Build a Flying Bike That Gets off the Ground by Pedaling (My Modern Met)Don’t wait a couple centuries to back our show on Patreon, join us today

It was this month in 1906 that radio pioneer Reginald Fessenden says he put a Christmas Eve transmission out on wireless that included a rendition of "O Holy Night," which would make it the first Christmas song ever played on the radio. Plus: if you’re into big holiday light displays, they don’t get much bigger or brighter than the ones in the Dyker Heights section of Brooklyn. Reginald Fessenden (National Park Service) Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Back our show on Patreon and we’ll keep sending sound out into the world too

Today in 1979, Germany’s federal parliament, the Bundestag, welcomed a new member, one Jakob Mierscheid. The catch? Jakob Mierscheid is a fictional character, he's completely imaginary. Plus: the last circulating US pennies are being auctioned off starting today. A dubious existence (Süddeutsche Zeitung via Archive.org) Last circulating cents to be sold in Dec. 11 auction (Coin World)Our Patreon backers make a real difference for our show, join them today

Today in 1962, NBC broadcast a documentary showing a daring and dramatic effort to rescue people from Communist East Berlin. What was unusual was that NBC had essentially funded that rescue project. Plus: a raccoon breaks into a store in Virginia, gets drunk, passes out and gets in trouble with the law. Escape From East Berlin (New York Times)Drunk raccoon found passed out in Virginia store bathroom after ransacking it: officials (WJLA)Join our Patreon backers and keep building this show

Today in 1970, the release of the Donny Hathaway song "This Christmas." It's become a holiday classic, even if it took a couple decades to get there. Plus: in the Czech Republic you can get an Advent calendar that’s made of salami. Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas" (Chicago Sun-Times via Archive.org) Salami Advent Calendar, Czech Republic (Present & Correct via Bluesky) Get to know our show better as a backer on Patreon

This year brought us some pretty awful wildfires. A project in Portugal called Trovador asks if robots could take on some of the post-wildfire work for us. Plus: a farm in Shelby, Ohio is offering yoga classes with its otters. tree-planting robot saves burned land from deforestation by putting seedlings in the ground (designboom)An 'otterly' good time: Ohio farm offers ‘world’s only’ yoga class where otters set the vibe (10TVOur show is 100 percent human-powered, thanks to our backers on Patreon

This week we're replaying our favorite shows about winged mammals. In this episode from April 2023, we visit two centuries-old libraries in Portugal where bat colonies actually offer some pretty useful service in protecting their extremely rare old volumes. Plus: there's a library in Washington state that collects unpublished manuscripts. These Portuguese Libraries Are Infested With Bats — and They Like It That Way (Travel + Leisure via Yahoo!)The Brautigan Library (Futility Closet)Help us build our library of new episodes as a backer on Patreon

This week we're replaying our favorite shows about winged mammals. In this episode from April 2022, research from Ohio State University finds bats can become close when they’re made to live together. Plus: in 1930, a BBC announcer came on the air to say “there is no news.” Like college roommates, vampire bats bond when randomly paired (Ohio State University)#OnThisDay 1930: the BBC’s news announcer said, “there is no news” (BBCArchive on Twitter)Our Patreon backers keep this show flying and making friends!

This week we're replaying our favorite shows about winged mammals. In this episode from November 2020, researchers at Johns Hopkins University say bats can essentially “hear” into the future to find food. Plus: when The MTV European Music Awards let fans vote on the internet for Best Act Ever, the internet Rickrolled music history. Hearing the Future (Johns Hopkins University)MTV EMAs name Rick Astley ‘Best Act Ever’ (NME)Cool Weird Awesome will never give its Patreon backers up, will never let them down… 

This week we're replaying our favorite shows about winged mammals. In this episode from September 2021, research finds if you spend time with baby bats, you might hear them doing essentially the same babbling sounds that baby humans make. Plus: the YouTube channel Steadycraftin turns those orange into 3D printed robot figures. Baby Bats Babble Just Like Human Infants (Treehugger)Turning Plastic Pill Bottles Into Orange Robot Figurines (Laughing Squid)We hang on our Patreon backers’ every word

This week we're replaying our favorite shows about winged mammals. In this episode from June 2022, a study from Ohio State University finds bats can remember a ringtone for years if they associate the sound with food. Plus: a French company uses old face masks to make rulers and protractors for geometry class. A rare discovery of long-term memory in wild frog-eating bats (Ohio State University)Plaxtil Recycles Used Face Masks Into School Supplies (Cool Hunting)Our Patreon backers always remember how to make this show possible – thanks for your support!

A lot of people are out shopping today, so we'll look at the history of the unsung hero of all that fast and furious commerce, the bar code. Plus: If you’re in the community of Ariel, Washington, you might be marking DB Cooper Day. Scan here: Endowed professor delves into the history of the barcode (Clemson)A hijacker holiday in Washington (BBC)Scan yourself into our Patreon site as one of this show’s backers

Cranberry sauce is one of the most traditional Thanksgiving side dishes, but not in 1959. That was the year of what History.com has called the Great Cranberry Scare. Plus: years ago, the balloon wranglers at the big parade in New York used to just let them float free at the end of the event! How the Great Cranberry Scare of 1959 Set Off a Thanksgiving Panic (History.com)FREE-FLOATING NYC THANKSGIVING PARADE BALLOONS CAUSED MAYHEM (Untapped New York)We’re thankful every day for our Patreon backers, please join them in supporting our podcast